During preparation of a well, a wellbore is drilled and a perforation procedure is carried out to facilitate fluid flow in the surrounding reservoir. The perforation procedure relies on a perforating gun loaded with charges and moved downhole into the wellbore. Once the perforating gun is located proximate the desired reservoir, the charges are ignited to perforate the formation rock that surrounds the wellbore.
The charges are mounted in a “straight” orientation that directs the shot or blast outwardly into the surrounding formation perpendicular to the perforating gun. As a result, ignition of the charges and the resulting controlled explosion creates substantial forces in the perforating gun and other associated, downhole equipment. In fact, the shock induced by the perforating procedure can cause a great deal of damage to the equipment. This potential for damage is most severe when the perforating procedure is carried out with relatively long perforating guns used to form perforations along a substantial region of the wellbore.